KitPlus | Articles

Somewhere down the latency river

Some people have been, understandably, getting fairly excited over the prospect of being able to deploy wireless cameras to capture and transmit 4K UHD. Manufacturers and developers are closing in on the ability to deliver systems that will offer up almost endless creative options at the highest – to date – possible picture quality. But they’re not...

Submitted by Ben Hawker

Published 12 February 2018

Is now the time to compromise on investment

It would seem on the face of it that many broadcasters and production companies are trimming spending to the bone, or at least postponing it in anticipation of more lucrative days to come. While that may seem prudent, and is in some cases a necessity, there\'s an equally valid argument that periods of economic downturn, real or perceived, are the p...

Submitted by Mike Ransome - new

Published 19 May 2017

OBs are still outside and so are broadcasts

With the advent of new and emerging technologies, and with the one getting the most oxygen at the moment being video over IP, a number of people are asking whether the ability to move control rather further way from an event has, or will, change the nature of OB production. Well, yes...and no. OB requirements always depend on what type of broadcast...

Submitted by Mike Ransome - new

Published 04 April 2017

The eye in the sky

EVENT360 specialises in production and delivery of sport presentation, entertainment and stadium ceremonies, and, as such, we\'re always looking for new, interesting, and innovative crowd engagement tools. One of those engagement tools that we\'d been using for many years was a crowd-surfing ball - basically a sponsor-branded beach ball thrown into...

Submitted by Julian Marks

Published 13 January 2017

Life through a hire lens

There are loads of differences in the requirements for say news, sport or live entertainment events, and it\'s digging a little deeper into those differences that ultimately, well, makes the difference in what cameras and lenses we hire out to customers. It\'s a bit of a cliche, but what customers want is not always what they need. Add to that all...

Submitted by Neville Fuller

Published 10 November 2016

Networking with the GTC

The annual Guild Of Television Cameramen ( GTC ) Open Day and AGM was held recently in the Oxfordshire countryside on a sunny Sunday. It's a while since I've attended one, and the welcome was as warm and friendly as it always has been. Organisations like these must be incredibly useful for freelance camera operators, most of whom do not attend NAB,...

Submitted by Duncan Payne

Published 14 June 2016

Box to Box

by Will Strauss Issue 90 - June 2014 Specially designed flyaway OB units are being deployed at the World Cup in Brazil to help bring enhanced coverage of the beautiful game to countries around the world. By Will Strauss. Like many journalists I like to put things in boxes, metaphorically speaking, Regardless of how unwise it may be, it helps to est...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 July 2014

RTS Thames Valley NAB 2014 Review

by Simon Tillyer Issue 90 - June 2014 A sunny, early summer evening welcomed over 40 people to the annual RTS NAB review on 14th May. This annual get together features a panel of guests, chaired by Dick Hobbs discussing their experiences and thoughts of NAB. The panel consisted of Maya Severyn (Head of Technical Services & Support - Chellomedia), J...

Submitted by Simon Tillyer

Published 01 July 2014

Taming the Thames for Boat Race coverage

by Presteigne Charter Issue 89 - May 2014 Each April teams representing the two oldest universities in England, Oxford and Cambridge, meet on the Thames for one of the toughest challenges in rowing. A very popular event, this years race, which was covered by BBC Sport, saw Oxford claim an emphatic 11-length victory over their old rivals. Leading hi...

Submitted by Presteigne Charter

Published 01 June 2014

Ask the experts: Life behind the rate card

by Mike Ransome Issue 88 - April 2014 From time to time, most people in broadcast and production need to rent in some equipment. It might be to extend capabilities an extra camera channel, for example or it might be to bring in something you do not normally use, like an EVS server, for instance. Now picking a dry hire company sounds awfully simple....

Submitted by Mike Ransome

Published 01 May 2014

Monitoring OBs the light and easy way

by Stuart Cameron, MD of Cache-MediaI wonder sometimes whether a successful OB should be measured as Outside Broadcast Coverage per KG or OB coverage per KM. The cost of fuel keeps rising and so the cost of getting to an OB location is also increasing. To anyone who is a cyclist, you know that extra weight slows you down when climbing hills. Theref...

Submitted by Stuart Cameron

Published 01 April 2013

Mixing with the wildlife on Big Cat Live

A crew of 73 travelled out from the UK for 6 days of BBC’s ‘Big Cat Live’ programmes from Kenya early in October. Most of us were flown in on single engine cessnas which took us from Nairobi across the great Rift valley & down towards Tanzania. From the moment we touched down on the rough dirt & asphalt landing strip in the middle of the Masai Mara...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 March 2009